27 Matuhi Street, Belmont, Lower Hutt
View on mapRaphael House Rudolf Steiner Area School
Raphael House Rudolf Steiner Area School
Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report
Background
This Profile Report was written within six months of the Education Review Office and Raphael House Rudolf Steiner Area School working in Te Ara Huarau, an improvement evaluation approach used in most English Medium State and State Integrated Schools. For more information about Te Ara Huarau see ERO’s website www.ero.govt.nz
Context
Raphael House Rudolf Steiner Area School is in Lower Hutt. The school has recently changed the provision of education from offering kindergarten to Class 12 (Year 13), to in 2023 beginning at Class 2 (Year 2) to Class 12 (Year 13). The Waldorf philosophy underpins the school’s special character and is evident in all aspects of school life.
Raphael House Rudolf Steiner Area School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:
-
the learning environment is managed in ways that support participation, engagement, and agency in learning
-
learning opportunities enable students to relate new information to prior knowledge and to modify existing conceptions
-
in each learning area students engage in cognitively challenging and purposeful learning opportunities.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Raphael House Rudolf Steiner Area School’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively the curriculum and teachers respond to individual needs.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to:
-
ensure individual needs are seen and responded to so that all students are able to access the curriculum
-
ensure that teachers are engaged in growing and developing their professional practices in order to support learner needs, hauora and progress.
The school expects to see increasing levels of engagement with learning at all levels and success across the holistic Steiner curriculum.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum.
-
Teaching and learning are strongly guided by an understanding and response to the holistic uniqueness of each child.
-
Strength in the school’s relational engagement with ākonga and whanau in an environment placing value on their stories that extends the meaningful rhythms of learning.
-
A developmentally based broad curriculum, rich in opportunities for personalised learning.
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
-
extending narrative reporting of progress and achievement that informs the ongoing journey of learning for the individual child
-
further collecting and acting on student voice to better inform the learning experiences.
ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. ERO will support the school in reporting their progress to the community. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report and is due within three years.
Kathy Lye
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
14 February 2023
About the School
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Raphael House Rudolf Steiner Area School
Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2022 to 2025
As of September 2022, the Raphael House Rudolf Steiner Area School, Board of Trustees has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:
Board Administration
Yes
Curriculum
Yes
Management of Health, Safety and Welfare
Yes
Personnel Management
Yes
Finance
Yes
Assets
Yes
Further Information
For further information please contact Raphael House Rudolf Steiner Area School, Board of Trustees.
The next Board of Trustees assurance that it is meeting regulatory and legislative requirements will be reported, along with the Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report, within three years.
Information on ERO’s role and process in this review can be found on the Education Review Office website.
Kathy Lye
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
14 February 2023
About the School
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Raphael House Rudolf Steiner Area School
Provision for International Students Report
Background
The Education Review Office reviews schools that are signatories to the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021 established under section 534 of the Education and Training Act 2020.
Findings
The school is a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021 established under section 534 of the Education and Training Act 2020. The school has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code and has completed an annual self review of its implementation of the Code.
At the time of this review there were two international students attending the school, and no exchange students.
Thorough self-review processes make considered use of professional guidance and information to enhance the provision for International Students. School leadership maintains a focus on the quality of provision for students and monitors plans for further enrolments closely. The International Student Coordinator and the Principal have identified next steps for resourcing and processes.
The high level of care provided for students ensures effective and inclusive integration into the school environment. Ongoing support and guidance enable students to pursue their interests and make good progress towards their academic goals. One to one tutoring is given for ESOL as required. Students are able to access support in their own language should they need it. Students reported feeling welcomed and well cared for, they spoke highly of their experiences at the school.
Kathy Lye
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
14 February 2023
About the School
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Raphael House Rudolf Steiner Area School - 21/02/2018
School Context
Raphael House Rudolf Steiner Area School is in Lower Hutt. Of the 346 students on the roll, 13 % identify as Māori. Students from a wide range of other ethnic groups are enrolled. The school provides education from kindergarten to Class 12 (Year 13). The provision for children in the kindergarten, on the school roll, is addressed in ERO’s review of the kindergarten.
The Waldorf philosophy underpins the school’s special character and is evident in all aspects of the school life.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
- achievement against the Learning Steps framework
- achievement in relation to the New Zealand Certificate of Steiner Education
(Levels 1, 2 and 3) - outcomes related to wellbeing of students.
A number of initiatives to enhance student achievement and to address areas identified for development in the November 2014 ERO report have been introduced.
A principal, deputy principal and two lower school coordinators (job share) were appointed in February 2017. Steps have been taken to clarify the roles and accountabilities of the Proprietor’s Trust, Board of Trustees and school leaders since the last ERO review. Proprietors are represented on the board of trustees.
The school is a member of the National Rudolf Steiner Kāhui Ako|Community of Learning (KA).
Evaluation Findings
1 Equity and excellence – valued outcomes for students
1.1 How well is the school achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students?
The school is working to develop practices and processes to effectively address equity of outcomes for all learners.
School reported information for 2016 shows almost all students achieved the New Zealand Certificate of Steiner Education in Classes 10 - 12, many with merit and excellence.
In Classes 1 - 7 most students achieved in literacy and mathematics as assessed against the Learning Steps. Māori students achieve at higher rates in reading and writing than their peers. Girls achieve better in reading, writing and mathematics than boys. Improvement for all groups is evident in each of the past three years in writing.
1.2 How effectively does this school respond to those Māori and other students whose learning and achievement need acceleration?
The school is working to develop effective practices and processes to accelerate the progress of all learners whose achievement requires acceleration. For some students in 2017, mid-year school achievement information shows acceleration is evident.
2 School conditions for equity and excellence
2.1 What school processes and practices are effective in enabling achievement of equity and excellence?
The leadership team are collaborative, open to change and improvement focused. They demonstrate a collective capacity to consider and implement change. Leaders have implemented useful systems and processes to identify and monitor student achievement at classroom and school-wide levels.
Students with additional needs are included in all aspects of school life. Staff work collaboratively with parents and specialist staff to provide the support these students require.
Parents, whānau and community are welcomed and involved in school activities and festivals as respected and valued partners in learning.
School leaders are appropriately focused on raising teacher capability and improving the delivery of the curriculum to support the achievement of the school’s annual targets and goals. A focus on raising literacy and mathematics has lifted expectations of achievement and teacher practice in reading, writing and mathematics
There has been a strategic approach to the integration of te reo me ngā tikanga Māori into all aspects of school operation. Te reo Māori is compulsory in Classes 8 and 9 and kapa haka is part of the Class 4 - 7 curriculum. Suitable staffing appointments have been made to support these changes and to grow teachers’ cultural competency.
2.2 What further developments are needed in school processes and practices for achievement of equity and excellence?
Strengthening the implementation of teacher appraisal processes and aligning these to school priorities and the Standards for the Teaching Profession should support teacher growth. Senior leaders should also take a greater role in observing teacher practice to ensure consistency of feedback and expectations of teacher practice.
Teachers should focus teacher inquiry on those students whose achievement requires acceleration, to enable teachers and leaders to better evaluate the impact of actions on outcomes for students.
Leaders are developing their evaluative practices. This is supporting their understanding of necessary changes and enabling a responsive and considered approach to implementing decisions made for improvement.
3 Board assurance on legal requirements
Before the review, the board and principal of the school completed the ERO board assurance statement and self-audit checklists. In these documents they attested that they had taken all reasonable steps to meet their legislative obligations related to the following:
- board administration
- curriculum
- management of health, safety and welfare
- personnel management
- finance
- asset management.
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student safety and wellbeing:
- emotional safety of students (including prevention of bullying and sexual harassment)
- physical safety of students
- teacher registration and certification
- processes for appointing staff
- stand down, suspension, expulsion and exclusion of students
- attendance
- school policies in relation to meeting the requirements of the Vulnerable Children Act 2014.
Provision for international students
The school is a signatory to the Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students (the Code) established under section 238F of the Education Act 1989. The school has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code.
At the time of this review there were 12 international students attending the school, including four exchange students. All students come through the global network of Waldorf Steiner schools. The sharing of values and the Waldorf Steiner philosophy supports students’ positive integration.
There is appropriate academic, social, cultural and pastoral provision. Clear guidelines and expectations are in place to provide a safe and welcoming environment. School staff and management work collaboratively to provide a good level of pastoral care. They build positive and productive relationships with students. Students integrate well into school life and participate in a range of social, sporting and cultural events.
4 Going forward
Key strengths of the school
For sustained improvement and future learner success, leaders can draw on existing strengths in:
- collaborative practices and leadership that demonstrate a collective capacity to consider and implement changes to improve outcomes
- developing teachers’ capacity and capability to better respond to students’ language, culture and identity.
Next steps
For sustained improvement and future learner success, development priorities are in:
- strengthening the implementation of appraisal processes, that supports teachers to develop practices that accelerate progress and achievement for target students
- internal evaluation that better evaluates the impact of teaching strategies, programmes and initiatives on outcomes for students.
ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing
ERO is likely to carry out the next external evaluation in three years.
Alan Wynyard
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central (Acting)
Te Tai Pokapū - Central Region
21 February 2018
About the school
Location |
Lower Hutt |
Ministry of Education profile number |
133 |
School type |
Area School, Years 1 - 13 |
School roll |
351 |
Gender composition |
Female 57%, Male 43% |
Ethnic composition |
Māori 12% |
Provision of Māori medium education |
No |
Review team on site |
November 2017 |
Date of this report |
21 February 2018 |
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, November 2014 |